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lopo km
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1000 mi
Panthera tigris balica
Ball
The shrinking range of the tiger
WIDESPREAD IN ASIA
until the late 19th
century, the tiger appearsin
the fossil recordof the early
Pleistocene,more than a
millionyears ago. The
carnivoreadapted to diverse
habitatsand evolved into
eight subspecies, or races,
each with different size, coat
pattern,and skull shape. In
the past 100 years, with
pressurefrom big-game
hunting and the destruction of
habitat,numbers dwindled
and some races disappeared.
Now tigers enjoy protected
status throughouttheir range.
When Indiafound thatits
tigerpopulationhad fallen
from a possible 40,000 in
1900 to fewer than 2,000 by
1972, the government joined
with the World Wildlife Fund
in Project Tiger. Fifteen tiger
reserves have been set up,
saving variedecosystems
from the teak-and-bamboo
forests of Maharashtrato the
mangrove swamps of Bengal.
Poachers have been tracked
down, education stepped up,
and some 6,000 villagers
relocatedto createthese
protected islandsin a sea of
humanity. The number of
Indiantigers has risentoday
to more than 3,000, a thirdin
Project Tiger reserves.
Tiger!Lord of the Indian Jungle
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